Architecture and Public Policy

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CIS explores how changes in the architecture of computer networks affect the economic environment for innovation and competition on the Internet, and how the law should react to those changes. This work has lead us to analyze the issue of network neutrality, perhaps the Internet's most debated policy issue, which concerns Internet user's ability to access the content and software of their choice without interference from network providers.

Shaheen Shariff, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Integrated Studies, Faculty of Education, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Dr. Shariff's research and teaching are grounded in the study of law as it impacts educational policy and practice. In particular, she is interested in studying legal issues that emerge in relation to on-line social communications such as cyber-hate, cyber-bullying, sexting, free expression, privacy harm, libel and criminal harassment. Read more » about Shaheen Shariff

Lauren Turek is a doctoral candidate in history at the University of Virginia and a dissertation completion fellow at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. She specializes in the history of U.S. foreign relations, politics, and 20th-century American evangelicalism. Lauren is currently finishing her dissertation, entitled “To Bring the Good News to All Nations: Evangelicals, Human Rights, and U.S. Read more » about Lauren Turek

Jeffrey L. Vagle is Lecturer in Law and Executive Director of the Center for Technology, Innovation and Competition at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. His research interests include surveillence law, cryptography and cybersecurity law, electronic privacy, Internet architecture, and networked economies and societies. A particular focus of his work is the study of the societal, political, historical, and economic effects of government surveillance, especially among marginalized or disenfranchised populations. Mr. Read more » about Jeffrey Vagle

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Tomorrow, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on reforming the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Before you start thinking, "it's about time", note that the witness list includes someone from the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Business Software Alliance. The only reform proponent is former computer crime prosecutor Orin Kerr, now a Professor at George Washington University Law School. Read more » about Congressional Hearing Tomorrow on CFAA Reform

I’ve blogged on these pages before about the claim, popularized by Larry Lessig, that “code is law.” During the Concurring Opinions symposium on Jonathan Zittrain’s 2010 book The Future of The Internet (And How To Stop It), I cataloged the senses in which architecture or “code” is said to constitute a form of regulation. “Primary” architecture refers to altering a physical or digital environment to stop conduct before it happens. Speed bumps are a classic example. “Secondary” architecture instead alters an environment in order to make conduct harder to get away with—for instance, by installing a traffic light camera or forcing a communications network to build an entry point for law enforcement.Read more » about Is Forensics Law?

I have yet to sit down and read Evgeny Morozov’s new book, To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism. I certainly found his last book very thought provoking. But I did get a chance to read an op ed Morozov recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal with the provocative title “Is Smart Making Us Dumb?” The piece draws a distinction between mobile and other devices that are “good smart” and ones that are “bad smart.” Good smart devices “leave us in complete control of the situation and seek to enhance our decision-making by providing more information.” Morozov offers the example of a teapot that relays the state of the energy grid. Whereas bad smart ones “make certain choices and behaviors impossible,” a theme Lawrence Lessig, Jonathan Zittrain, and others famously develop under the rubric of "code." Read more » about Good Versus Bad Smart: Some Thoughts On Morozov's Op Ed

Mozilla has suggested that the FCC should classify a newly defined service, which it calls “remote edge provider delivery service,” as a telecommunications service. This service, as defined by Mozilla, is offered by broadband Internet access providers to providers of Internet applications, content or services (“edge providers”) and encompasses the transport of an individual edge provider’s data across the ISP’s access network to and from all of an ISP’s subscribers. According to Mozilla, this classification would allow the FCC to adopt rules banning blocking, discrimination, and access fees under Title II of the Communications Act. Read more » about Comments on Mozilla's Proposal

Last Wednesday, more than 300,000 people contacted the White House and their representatives in Congress on a day of action calling for a free and open Internet. More than 1.4 million people have submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the need for strong network neutrality rules. Read more » about Only Title II will ensure fairness among ISPs

Comcast Corp. v. FCC is a 2010 United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia case holding that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not have ancillary jurisdiction over Comcast’s Internet service under the language of the Communications Act of 1934. In so holding, the Court vacated a 2008 order issued by the FCC that asserted jurisdiction over Comcast’s network management polices and censured Comcast from interfering with its subscribers' use of peer-to-peer software. Read more » about Comcast Corporation v. Federal Communications Commission

""Right now, the big carriers are simply looking for a loophole," said Marvin Ammori, a lawyer who advises major tech companies and supports net neutrality. He noted that there are multiple loopholes -- like writing exceptions for mobile or specialized services -- that could undermine the whole FCC rule. "They only need one," he said."Read more » about Stunning Victory Within Reach For Net Neutrality Advocates

"Though the proposal offers many concessions to net neutrality advocates, critics maintain that it still fails to uphold important net neutrality principles. According to an analysis published on Tuesday by Barbara van Schewick, director of Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, the legislation “provides network neutrality in name only.” Read more » about Republicans Wage Last-Minute Campaign To Undermine Net Neutrality Rules

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On 24th February, the 2015 Digital Leaders Annual Lecture, ‘Digital Democracy,’ will take place at the Houses of Parliament.

The lecture will be hosted by Chloe Smith MP; the lecturer is Dr. Ben Scott, Senior Advisor to the Open Technology Institute at the New America Foundation in Washington DC and a Visiting Fellow at the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung in Berlin. Read more » about Digital Leaders Annual Lecture 2015

ACS, The Center on the Legal Profession, and The Center for Internet and Society are pleased to welcome Valarie Kaur to lead a discussion of storytelling, media, and the law. We will screen Kaur's film Alienation and Kaur will lead a discussion of the film and her approach to telling legal stories in the public sphere. Read more » about Storytelling Law: An Evening with Valarie Kaur